Seeder.



J. F. NEEDHAM.

SEEDER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR- 20. 1914.

Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

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J. F. NEEDHAM.

SEEDER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20. 19I4.

Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

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WITNESSES:

JOHN F. NEEDI-IAM, or Prisms, new YORK.

sEEnEa.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 1914. Serial No. 825.965.

To aZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, JO NF. NEEDHAM,

of Phelps, in the county offOntario, in the State of New York have invented new and useful Improvements in Seeders, of which the following, taken in connection'with the accompanying drawings, is a full,clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in seeders and refers more particu 'larly to the. means, for feeding predetermined quantities of the seeds from the reservoir or seed container to the delivery tubes either in front or at the rear of the drill I hoes. 3

The main object is to embody in a single 'mechanism of simple and economic conof a portion of i seed-feeding machine,

showing a plurality'of my improved feeding mechanisms together with means for regulating the quantity of seeds fedto the delivery tube. Fig. 2 is an inverted plan of the same mechanism. Figs. 3 and tare enlarged transverse sectional views taken respectively on lines 3-3and 4.-l-, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view through one of the feeding and regulating devices taken on'line "5- 5, Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a top plan of "the mechanism shown 1 in Fig.5 omitting themain supportingbar and guide-plate thereon, but showing the trailing gate for regulating the quantity of seed which may be delivered by the runs of the fluted dr'um. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the detached upper.half of the bearing or housing for one of the fluted feed drums and gates associated therewith.

The mechanism'shown is adapted to .be

used in connection with-multiple drills and comprises a main-supporting bar 1- adapted to be supported in a horizontal position in any suitable manner upon the ,therethrough,

apart and preferably elongated in the direc tron .of length 'of the bar, the length of the the screws -5 inner side of the rib frame of the machine so as to form, the bottom of a seed container or reservoir (not shown) ,said bar being provided with a ,plu-' rality of vertical rectangular openings spaced uniform distances bar and number of openings therein and also the spacing of the openings depending 'upon the number and distance apart of the rows into which the. seeds are to be simul taneously planted although it is evident that a single feeding .ployed if desired;

Associated with each opening 2 isa cast metal plate 3 and a delivery chute 4 which are secured by screws 5- to the underside of the bar l and constitute a housing for receiving and supporting a fluted drum 6, a sliding gate 7-- and a vertically oscillating gate 8-, all of which are preferably made of cast metal and will be hereinafter more fully described. U

The plate 3 is mechanism may be empreferably clamped by between the upper face of the chute -1 and underside of the bar 1 as shown more clearly in Fig. 3 and preferably extends entirely around the adjacent end of the corresponding opening 2'-, the central portion of said plate. be-

ing provided with a raised lengthwise, rib

'9 of substantially the same length as, but of less width than the opening- 2 so as to project into said opening and at the same time forming in the plate an additional openingl0 through which the seeds entering the opening 2 may be passed to the runs of the corrugated drum 6.

The undersideof the rib 9 is cut away throughout the greater portion of its length and width to form a chamber 11 for the purpose of reducing the weight of'the plate and also to afford ample space for the vertical plate of the swinging gate 8-, the

adjacent the opening -10 being preferably curved or beveled to causethe seeds to'gravitate more readily into said opening and thence intothe runs ofthe corrugated drum 6.

' The delivery tube 4+ is preferably funnel shape and constitutes the main body of the housing inclosing the rotary feeding drum gates Z and -8 andja n Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

upper bearing section l2 for the ends of the drum the front and rear sides of the upper end or base of the delivery tube 7 cap-plate, is fittedin the upper end of the I delivery tube and for this purpose its 7 being provided with circular bosses 1"- fitting in corresponding openings in'the,

plate 2 through which the screws :o

7 pass so as to additionally lock the delivery tube and plate against relative movement. when secured inoperative positlon .bythe screws tothe bar .1.

The lower end of the'delivery tube is provided with a discharge'opening -14' elongated in the direction of the length of 2o ends l6 of thefdrum'.

The member 12jv which may termed front and rear sides. are 7 provided with flanges 17+ interposed between shoulders +18 on the adjacent portions of thetube and under sides of the corresponding portions of the superposed plate 3, so that the cap-plate is clamped in place between the delivery tube andplate 3' when the latter is secured in operative position by the screws 5, thereby holding the cap-plate against relative vertical movement, the same being heldagainst lateral or endwise movement by shoulders -19 on the upper side of the delivery tube at the ends of the .It will be seen from the foregoing description that the cap-platei12 is nested Wholly within the upper endof the delivery tube 4' and, as shown moreclearly in Figs. 5 and 7, is provided With semi-' circular bearings 20 engaging the up- I per sides of thecircular ends 16' of. the

feeding drum #6- to cooperate with the lower bearings 15 for holding'the drum v in operative position.

i The drum 6- 1s corrugated transversely or rather providedwitha series of lengthwise grooves +22+ in its peripherv' parallel V withits'axis and spaced uniform distances apart to form runs into which the seeds are depositedsuccessively as the drum is rotated.

The means for rotating the drum consists.

ofa shaft 23 preferably of angularcross section, passing through a correspondingly formed aperture 24 through the center of the drum so that when the shaft is rotated by any desired form of driving mechanism, not necessary to herein illustrate or describe, the drum will, betcorrespondingly rotated to successively register its grooves "22 with the opening or passage -10] in. the plate -3, thereby conveying the seeds Which may be deposited in the grooves into the underlying opening 1l in the bottom of the delivery tube The front and rear sides of the cap-plate +12- preferably extend downwardly some I distanceinto the upper end of the delivery tube and at the front and rear sides of the drum, the inner face of the rear side of, the cap-plate being preferably concentric with and in close proximity to the periphery of i" the drum, so as to prevent the seeds from passing between those contiguous faces and thereby assure the feeding of all seeds which may pass through the opening .-10 in the direction of rotation of the upper portion of theperiphery of the drum, as indicated by arrow X, Fig. 3.

The sliding gate 7. consists 1of "lengthwise bar coextensive in area with'and underlying the opening. or passage 10- and is preferably formed integral with a somewhat narrower extension iorjcontinuation '25 which'is guided n a lengthwise groove 26 in the upper face of the capplate l2-' to allow the gate to move back and forth lengthwise of the opening "-10 to vary. the size of said'opening according tothe quantity of seeds which'it is desired to feed to the delivery tube, or ratherto the rotary feeding drum 6-. The gate 7' and its narrower extension '25" areithereby held and guided in their lengthwise movement between the upper face of the 1 cap-plate 12 and under side of the plate '8, so that the gate proper is located betweenthe periphery of the drum and inner end of the passage l0 and is capable of entirely closing said passage to cut off its communication with the delivery, tube if f necessary or desirable, or it may beop'ened to varying degreeslthe full length of the drum andpassa'ge '10 orto any inter mediate position, accordingto the quantity of seeds which it may be desired to feed into the delivery chute, it being understood that the drum is of substantially the same length r as, and registered with, the opening 1 0.

The ends of. the gate. 7, including its extension 25 are integrally united to a sliding. plate +28 having its main body spaced some distance apart from but paral- I lel with the gate, so as to form an intervening lengthwise opening '-29 throu'gh which the adjacent screws +5 and'boss" 13 and also the adjacent portion of the cap-plate -'12'" project thereby. leaving the bar -28 Wholly at theoutside of the adjacent boss l3 to rest upon; a ledge,

30 on the contiguous edge of the delivery tube' l,as shown more clearly in Fig. "3, thus forming an additional support for guiding the gate in its lengthwise movement.

Suitable means i'sprovided for adjusti 'gj;

and setting thissliding' gate to any position,

and for-this purpose I have shown the bar 28 forming an integral part'of the gate as provided with a laterally projecting apertured boss 31 through which is passed a screw -32having a head 33 at one end and a nut 3& at its opposite end, the inner lower side of the boss 3lrjbeing provided with a concave seat -34 between which and the head 33- of, the screw is clamped a rod -35- running lengthwise of and parallel with the gate and, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is adapted to be connected to any number, of gates which may be mounted upon the bar 1. In like manner the drum shaft -23 maybe extended to op erate any number of feeding drums.

It is evident from the foregoing description thatby loosening the clamping screw -33 the several gates may be adjusted to the same positions with relation to their drums or to different positions, so that one or more of the feeding devices might deliver a greater or less quantity of seeds than any one or more of the other feeding devices, ifthat should be desirable, but after the gates are properly set they are rigidly held in this position by the tightening of the clamping screw 33 so that all may be shifted simultaneously.

In addition to-the means for adjusting the sliding gates, asjust previously described, I have provided a hand lever r36- fulcrumed at 37 upon a bracket or plate -38, which is secured by, screws 39 to the under face of the bar -l and is therefore rigid therewith, said plate or bracket being provided with a notched rack l0 and slot 41- both concentric with the axis of movement of the lever 36, the slot -4il serving to receive a clamping screw -l2- carriedby the lever-36 and provided with a clamping nut 43 by which the lever may be clamped in any of its adjusted positions in interlocking engagement with any one of the notches of the rack 40, so as to hold the lever in its adjusted position.

A link 44 is pivotally connected tothe opposite end of the leverand is provided with a concave seat 45 for the rod -35-, said rod being clamped against the seat by the head -.46' ofsa screw, 4:7-

which is passed through an aperturein the:

link and provided with a nut 48 for tightening the head of the screw upon the rod, thereby establishing a positive connection between the rod -35 and the lever -36 so that any movement of the lever will impart a similar movement to the'rod for shifting the sliding gates to any desired position, either closed, full open or partially open, and when they are properly set, they may be held in this position by merely tightening the thumb nut 43 on the lever.

It will be observed upon reference to Fig.

faceof the cap-plate 12-,the main body of the plate being located at the inner side of the pintles and is adjusted so as to assume a position of rest in close proximity to the periphery of the drum. 7

The main body of the gate 8 is movablein a recess 53- in the upper side of the cap-plate 12- and while it is free to move upwardly from its normal horizontal position, into which it falls by its own weight, it is prevented from trailing on the ends of the periphery of the drum by having its ends normally resting against inclined faces forming the end walls of the recess ,53, as shown more clearly in Fig. 6.

'Ihis gate is located just at the rear of the passage Vl0 so as to clear the adjacent edge of the sliding gate 7 and its inner edge is preferably rounded in cross section so as to effectively cut off any excess quantity of seeds beyond the capacity of the grooves in the periphery of the drum, so

that each groove will feed substantially the same quantity of seeds into the delivery tube, while the freedom' of upward movement of the gate serves to prevent cracking of the seeds which may become lodged between the ribs of the fluted drum and rounded edge of the gate during the rotation of said drum in the act of conveying the seeds from the inlet -10 to the delivery end of-the tube.

In this manner a substantially uniform I quantity of seeds are, continuously delivered into the chute and thence into the furrow or upon the surface of the ground toassure a more uniform planting or drilling throughout the row or several rows.

The operation of my invention will now be readily understood upon reference to the foregoing description and the accompanying draw1ngs,'and wlnie I have shown and described specific forms of devices for-carrying out the several objects I do not wish to limit myself to such structure.

What I claim is:

1.In a seeding machine, a bar adapted to form the bottom of a seed reservoir and having an opening for the passage of seeds, a gate slidable across said passage, a de: livery tube leading from said opening, a cap plate, a rotary fluted drum journaled in said tube and said cap plate, and a swinging. gate journaled on said cap plate and adapted to normally assume by gravity a substantially horizontal position with a portion lying in close proximity to the periphery ofv said drum and to swing therefrom bycontact of seeds therewith as the drum is rotated, to

prevent cracking of the seeds.

2. Inaseeding machine, a bar adapted to form the bottom of" a seed reservoir and havlng an openlng forthe passage of seeds,

a gate slidable across said opening, aplate having a raised lengthwise rib projecting lIllJO said opening and cutaway 1113011 113 underslde to form a chamber, a delivery tube,

livery tube leadingfrom each of said openings, a separate cap member supportedgby each of said tubes, a gate slidably'mounted between each plate and thecap member to vary the working size of said opening, and a separate fluted roll rotatable ineach delivery tube for conveying seeds.

14 In a seeding machine, a bar having a serles of passages for seeds, a plate associated with each opening and having a rib projecting into its respective opening, a delivery tube leading from each of said openings, a separate cap member supported by each of said tubes, a gate slidably mounted :conveying seeds.

5. In a seeding machlne, a barhavlng' abetween eachplate and-the cap member to vary the working size of said opening, and a separate fluted roll journaled between each cap plate and a portion of its respective delivery tube and rotatable in said tube for series of passages for seeds, a plate associated with each opening and 'havln'g a rib pro ectlng llllZOlfiS respective opening, a delivery tube leading from each of said 0 en- 'lng's, a separate cap member supports by each of said tubes a gate slidably, mounted betweeneach plate and the cap member-to vary the Working size of said. opening, a separate fluted roll rotatable in' each' deliyery tube for conveying seeds, and means for slmultaneously operating said gates;

' 6. In a seeding machine, a'bar having a .series' of passages for seeds, a plate associated with reach openin'g and having-a rib pro ectlng into 1ts respectlve open1ng,a delivery tube leading from each of said open- *ings, a separate cap member supported by each of said tubes, a gate slidably mounted between each plate andthe cap member to vary the working size of saidopenmg, a

separate: fluted roll rotatable in each den livery tube for conveying seeds, and a swinging gate journaled onthe capplate and adapted to normally lie in close proximity to the periphery "of said drum and to swing therefrom by contact of seeds therewith as the drum is rotated;

7. In a seeding machine, a bar having a passage for seeds, a plate, associated with and having a rib projecting into and partially closing said passage and forming a chamber 11, a fluted roll rotatably mounted beneath the passage, a swinging gate having a portion normally resting in close proximity to the periphery of the drum and free to swing therefrom into the chamber 1l by contact of seeds therewith as the drumis rotated, to prevent cracking of the seeds. r v

8; Ina seeding -machine, a bar having a passage for seeds and a cut away portion adjacent said passage to form a chamber ll a delivery tube, a fluted drum rotatable in the tube, a sliding gate between the Witnesses: EJF, NEEDHAM,

E. A. NEEDHAMp Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressinglthe fComniissioner of Patents;

" Washington, 13.0. a

JOHN F. NEEDHAM. v 

